That Sweet Mysterious Garside Miracle
by The Energizer
Summary: Meet Alsme Gray. The Sweet Human; The Vampire Breather; The Twice-bitten Girl. Vladimir Dracula wants a light the won't burn him. Will Alsme be that light? (No OC Vlad pairing)
1. Runs in the Family

I do not own Young Dracula, yarda yarda, Only the plot and Alsme Gray :)

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I hoisted my small, but tremendously heavy luggage over the weathered cobblestones of the entry courtyard. From here, in the spring sun, I could hear the commotion of kids. This was it. The school my mum was taught at. The one where I would follow in my mother's footsteps. Take her classes. Wear her uniform – okay, not her _actual_ one, but one that looks like the one she used to wear. This was Garside Grange Independent Day School.

I put down one of my bags and shoved open a heavy door. It creaked loudly, but was lost in the teenage chatter of the foyer. British teenagers in grey themed uniforms bustled about, talking in their famous and varied accents. It made me feel out of place. A boy with carefully styled bed-hair was leaning against an old, wallpapered wall, his shirt crumpled and half untucked out of his pants.

"Uh, hi." I said in my awkward, muddled up, was-it-even-a-proper accent – being Australian wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "I was wondering if you knew where I could find Alex McCauley's office." I blew a wisp of hair out of my face. It was so long and thick and an absolute killer to tie up when wet.

His sleepy eyes widened and I read, _Really? You want to see _her_?_ "Uh, down that way and around the corner. It's easy to spot."

"Thanks." I replied with a nod.

I followed his directions, dragging my things through the waves of people with many excuse me's and oops, sorry's. I got to a dead end. What the? I asked again. Nowhere. And again, and again. Did these kids take pleasure in running the newbie in circles? Hmm? I went around and around until I was standing in the place where I began – by bad wallpaper. I huffed and went nosing around the halls for a map. NO MAP. What is wrong with this old place?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love old things – I want to make a living talking and writing about them – but there are just some things…

"Hello, can I help you? You look a little lost."

I pulled out of my mental rave to look at the speaker. He had pitch black hair and pale skin tone. His light eyes were kind and he had an average build. He seemed about my age.

"Yes please." I answered, my patience wearing rice-paper thin. "I would like to know where Alex McCauley's office is. I believe I am late for an appointment." I waggled a finger at him. "And no funny business. The proper route!"

He seemed confused. A moment later, his face cleared, the fog lifting off his sight. He laughed quietly.

"Oh, I see! No one really likes Ms McCauley, so they all take different routes to get to her office, often taking some strange way full of stairs and doors. It's just down this hall, turn left and the third door on your right. Actually, how about I take you there? I'm sort of going that way."

I sighed and nodded thankfully. I held out my hand. "Thank you. I'm Alsme Gray."

He shook it. "Vlad Count." He smiled.

I tried to read him, see if he was genuine. The ink was blurred. What? True person. A tugging, sick sensation hit my stomach and I doubled over, dragging our hands down with the movement. I couldn't read him properly! This had never happened before.

"Alsme!" He said in alarm. "Are you okay?"

I struggled up, pulling a smile. "Yeah. Must have been the plane food. It did look a bit weird." I lied – I hadn't eaten anything.

He looked unsure, but seemed to let it go, thankfully.

After a bit of banter, he took my luggage on insistence. I walked alongside him in my jeans and worn flats – damn, I should have worn boots. The halls, depending on where you were, were either normal height or really low - as in only a foot and a half from your head low. As we made our way past beaten up lockers and class doors, we made idle chit-chat. I talked a bit about my family and why I was here.

"Alex is my mum's younger sister. They both used to go to school here. I guess Aunt Alex didn't want to leave Garside alone." I shrugged. "My parents are journalists and they are away in South America. My younger siblings are still in Australia with my dad's sister. Mum decided I needed to be educated."

Vlad talked about a bit of his background and what it was like at Garside.

He laughed softly. "Well, my father is the owner of the school. I have an older sister. She graduated from here last year. I also have a younger half-brother that lives with us – Wolfie. It's a well-supplied school. Has a variety of subjects. I'm taking a bit of everything – biology, food tech. P.E, Math, English."

He stopped at a door clearly labelled _Alex McCauley_. I grinned and knocked. The door opened smoothly.

A man with long dark hair and slim fingers was talking with a woman in a blue dress. They paused and looked up.

"_Dad_?" Asked Vlad. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Vladdie." The man with angular features replied. Vlad cringed at the pet name.

"Aunt Alex!" I cried out happily.

She was startled. "Alsme. I thought you were coming next week?" Alex smoothed down her spotted dress professionally.

I sighed with a smile and enveloped her in a hug. She squeezed back and I saw surprise in the two males' eyes.

I looked at her. "Aunt Alex, we went over this. I was coming on the second week of term two, not the third week, because mum and dad weren't going to be able to see me off. You even said on the phone that you had it on your calendar!"

She hung her head. "Uh, I lied Al. If I told Madeline that I hadn't, she would have gotten on my back – you know your mum and organisation. It's just, I had so much going on…" She sounded far younger.

"Don't worry!" I laughed and hugged tighter.

"Wait!" She said. "I don't have accommodation for you. There isn't enough room in my flat and our dorms are filled. Sure, Elaine Grace isn't leaving until next month, but that is a long way away. I don't…"

The man Vlad identified as his father came forward. He had a sweeping coat on and his skin seemed so thin, you could see the dark veins. It reminded me of rice paper. He looked at me smoothly hand held out his hand, a quirked eyebrow presented.

"Count." He said silkily as an introduction.

I shook his hand politely. "Alsme." Huh. Isn't that their last name?

"Miss McCauley, how about I take your niece into my care? I have plenty of room and it would be no trouble." Count said to my aunt.

"But…Renfield…" She whispered over my shoulder - who was that? Was she trying to hide something from me?

He swatted his hand. "No trouble. I promise. We can even get her sorted today. Now."

That seemed to make my aunt feel better and I attempted to read The Count. The nausea hit again and I crumpled into a seat. Everyone crowded about. All I got from him was underlying adoration. He was like his son – unreadable! This was really annoying me. And wrong - my ability and the mystery around them. Yet again, I assured everyone I was fine and agreed to Count's idea. I needed someplace to go. Aunt Alex soon followed.

Count gained a smile that was slightly chilling. Was he supposed to look that scary when he smiled? He took my two bags after I retrieved my notebook and purple pen. Aunt Alex in all her headmistress glory handed me my timetable and told me to take my classes as I was for today. Vlad helpfully lead me out of the warm shaded room. He helped me through my classes, as I happened to be in most of them, par biology and food tech. But, hey, they weren't on for him today! I had a feeling things were going to be _great_!

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Thanks for reading.

Please review to see what I could improve on, add to, and so on. Or...or maybe just some nice happy faces? :)


	2. The Door To The Draculas

here is chapter 2. Remember, to please give feedback ( I promise I don't mean to annoyingly hound)

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That afternoon, I was shown up quite a few sets of stairs and down multiple thin corridors to a pokey little corner. It was a door. A flimsy door. Vlad produced a rusted, heavy key from his pocket and unlocked it. It swung open and he stepped through fluidly. He made me wish I could do that.

"Come on in." He smiled.

I nodded and slipped in, careful not to touch anything yet. I didn't want…anyway! I was shown through the dark gothic house full of candles, curtains and coffins. Coffins! In all shapes and sizes. Shades unknown to man. Metal, glass, wood. Vlad wouldn't explain that to me, only saying that it had always been like this. What? Full of dead peoples' beds? As we went into the dining room, we saw a sullen young woman. Her eyes were a haunting star blue and she wore a tight black dress and towering, toothpick-thin heels. She was swirling red liquid I put down as rare wine in a fragile wine glass. I could see the family resemblance – blue eyes, obsidian hair, pale tone.

"Ingrid, this is Alsme. She's staying with us. She's Alex's niece." Vlad said an undercurrent of authority present in his kind voice.

She put her drink to the side. "Huh. Nice to meet you." The words that passed her red lips were seriously sour. "_Not_."

But, I took an instant liking to her. I liked her honesty and her style. She was cold and unafraid to say or show anything. She reminded me of a vampire. But the cool and bad-ass evil kind. I was, however, too afraid to read her, scared of that moment where I couldn't read her.

I gave a smile. "Nice to meet you Ingrid." I gave a nod to her shoes. "Cool heels."

She glanced down at them. "Yeah. I know…thanks."

I waved vaguely at her in farewell and left after Vlad, my strappy sandals shuffling against the dusty wooden floor.

The moment he shut the door I said, "Is she your sister?"

"Yeah, sadly." He muttered, showing me to my room.

"Nawww, c'mon, she's not that bad. You have to admit she is kinda cool." I bantered.

"I don't." He said flatly.

Opening the door for me, Vlad walked in, placing my few bags at the foot of the mocha covered bed. If I was holding them, I would have just thrown them in – literally.

"The bathroom is through that door – be careful of the hot water as it is very temperamental. If you want your curtains open, please tell us. Our family has a rare skin condition – we cannot go out in sunlight. Uh, a wardrobe and dressing table are there and there" – he pointed to the wall opposite my bed and the one next to it. – "So you can put your things in there…anything else?" The last bit sounded as if he was speaking to himself.

I shook my head helpfully though.

"Right. Well, I'll let you settle in." He backed out slowly, giving me a smile and a wave.

The moment the door was shut, my hands were on everything – the floor, the door handle, the dressing table. Nothing. I pressed my hands all over the bed. All I got was some ugly dude shifting this thing in all on his own. I gave up and flicked on some music, beginning to unpack.

I placed my coats and dresses as well as my uniform in my wardrobe. The rest went into the dressing table. Now, where would my things go? I put my few books onto my floating shelves. I pinned my timetable to the mirror on the inside of my wardrobe. Next, I left the dusty room to the kitchen…if I could find it…

Hey! It was that ugly guy! He had wonky teeth and seemingly bad hygiene (I could smell it from here) He was stirring some sort of concoction.

"'Ello! And who are you? What do you think you're doing in my kitchen?" He asked.

I could barely stop myself laughing at his attire. He wore a grimy pink frilly apron. It was patterned with adorable bunnies and roses.

"Uh -"I sniggered. "I'm Alsme. Alsme Gray, Alex McCauley's niece. I'm living here for now." I explained.

He let his item on the stove burn as he rushed over to me, sitting me down. In front of me was a bad onion.

"Chop that, will you? I need it for the stew I'm serving tonight." He said.

I screwed my nose up at it. "But, it's _off_! We'll get sick." I looked up at him. "Who are you anyway?"

He then rolled his shoulders back proudly. "Renfield, miss. Loyal servant to the Dracul – Uh, I mean, _Count_ Household."

Why did he just correct himself? I hadn't even been here a day and things were already being hidden.

I pushed the onion aside. "Sorry Renfield, but I have to go. Pleasure to meet you though."

He nodded, clearly not disheartened by my exit and got to the job himself.

Notes to self: Wash Hands and _don't_ eat his food.

I pushed away from the table and froze._Uh-oh._


End file.
